Run by The Trentonian's Nick Peruffo, this blog will provide daily multimedia coverage of the Trenton Thunder.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Postgame Notes - June 14

When he looked at the box score after the game, even manager Tony Franklin couldn't believe his eyes -- Yadil Mujica's night was just that good. The Cuban defector -- who signed with the Yankees so late that he is not included in the team's media guide -- was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a run and four big RBIs.

That the outburst came a game after an ill-advised bunt attempt (and a headlong slide into first, to boot) with two outs in the bottom of the 12th inning and the tying run on second base speaks a little to his character and a lot to his ability to rebound.

Unfortunately, because he speaks no English, and with hitting coach Julius Matos banished to Tampa for the foreseeable future, there is almost nobody on the team capable of acting as a translator for Mujica, or any of the Spanish-speakers in the clubhouse, for that matter.

Dellin Betances is the best candidate, but he was gone before the media were done speaking with Franklin.

The same problem exists for Japanese lefty Naoya Okamoto, who lost his interpreter when Kei Igawa was promoted to Scranton. Okamoto, for what it's worth, pitched another stellar inning and two-thirds last night, allowing just one unearned run.

Other quick notes:

- Shaeffer Hall rebounded from a rocky first couple of innings to throw six frames of two-run ball, though the four walks showed that he didn't have his best command.

- With Hall, Okamoto and Wilkins Arias, the Thunder used solely southpaws on Tuesday. Combined, the trio induced 14 groundouts against just four flyouts.

- Jason Place was 3-for-4 with a run scored, and two of his hits were infield singles.

- Jose Pirela had another pair of knocks, including a double. He's hitting .346/.393/.577 in June after hitting just .164 and .196 in April and May, respectively. He did, however, commit his 17th error of the season, this time on a relatively routine grounder.

- Corban Joseph is hitting .317/.404/.537 over his last 10 games. He has six doubles, a homer and seven RBIs. Perhaps more impressively, he's walked six times and fanned just five.

- Over his last 10 appearances, Arias has whiffed 17 and walked just three.

- The game itself lasted 2 hours and 48 minutes. There were, however, two rain delays of 60 and 28 minutes, respectively. During the hourlong wait, which came before the game started, almost no rain fell.